Gwyneth Paltrow’s New Cookbook, It’s All Good: A Defense

Whenever InStyle cover girl Gwyneth Paltrow does something, there’s a good portion of the population in disagreement (see: here and here). And with the launch of her new cookbook, It’s All Good: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look and Feel Great, the headlines are no different. So why all the negativity? Because in this 304-page cookbook, released this week, Paltrow advocates an elimination diet, in which one avoids coffee, alcohol, dairy, eggs, sugar, shellfish, deepwater fish, potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, corn, wheat, meat, and soy—not just for a period of time, but for the rest of one’s life. Paltrow admits that the diet, recommended by Dr. Alejandro Junger (of Clean diet fame), was overwhelming at first, and a blow for the self-professed foodie. Still, she says, the end result was life-changing, and spawned the idea for this cookbook, which she co-wrote with Julia Turshen, a food writer and private chef. Paltrow readily admits that the lifestyle she advocates in this book isn’t easy. “The rest of my life? Without Parmesan cheese and fried zucchini and pasta and baguettes and Pinor Noir?” she writes. “That was not going to happen, let’s face it. However, could it become my baseline?. Could I lean toward it more? I decided I could.” Without saying so, it sounds like Paltrow is following the old 80/20 rule when it comes to food: eating healthy 80% of the time so you can indulge the other 20%. That certainly sounds like a balanced and realistic approach to eating to us! And let’s face it: if any diet can help us all look as good as Paltrow does at age 40, it’s worth a shot. Click here to snag a copy of the book for yourself, and share your thoughts in the comments!